Avram Grant last night turned up the heat on Arsene Wenger
ahead of Sunday's showdown at the Emirates Stadium, claiming that
Arsenal's squad cannot cope with injuries. The usually
mild-mannered Chelsea manager, preparing for this evening's final
Champions League group B game against Valencia at Stamford Bridge,
believes his title rivals are beginning to buckle under the
pressure of mounting injuries.
Grant, who has had to cope with a crippling injury list at Stamford
Bridge since he replaced Jose Mourinho, said: "Since we beat
Valencia (in October), we have won a lot of games and we have
played better football even with a lot of injuries. "It shows the
character of the team. You see Arsenal when they have injuries and
what has happened to them in the last couple of games. "The same
happened to Manchester United at Bolton without Wayne Rooney. Even
Liverpool, without Yossi Benayoun, lost at Reading."
Grant's surprising attack is the first time he has stepped out of
the comfort zone since he replaced Mourinho, but he is clearly
increasing in confidence. Chelsea qualified for the second round of
the Champions League with a game to spare after their 4-0 win in
Rosenborg at the end of last month. They are three points behind
Arsenal in the Barclays Premier League.
Grant has had to contend with injuries to key personnel including
Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Ricardo Carvalho
and Frank Lampard but they are still in the hunt for four major
trophies. The Chelsea chief added: "We have a big squad, but other
clubs have big squads. We have used ours in the best interests of
the club. "We have had a lot of injuries in a very short space of
time, but the players have done what we needed them to do. "They
have done everything we have asked of them. Carlo Cudicini, Andriy
Shevchenko, the defenders and the midfielders have all come in and
shown their quality. You can't ask for more than that."
